At present, more and more applications come out in which two-dimensional codes are used instead of paper vouchers, such as discount vouchers, shopping vouchers, and the like presenting in the form of two-dimensional codes displayed on mobile phones, or VIP cards, identity cards, and the like in the form of two-dimensional codes. Compared to a traditional paper coupon, a coupon in the form of a two-dimensional code is able to reduce cost and is convenience for transmitting and distributing. Customers can store a mass of electronic coupons in a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, which can readily be managed and used. While implementing the identification of a note, VIP qualification, and identity in the form of a two-dimensional code, various encryption, signature and authentication technologies can easily be applied, which efficiently improves the security requirement of these applications. Therefore, the applications have a wide application prospect.
A two-dimensional code is a black and white image distributed in two-dimensional directions according to a certain rule by a specific geometry pattern, to represent information, wherein black and white represent “0” and “1” bit in a binary system. A two-dimensional code is recognized through an image input device or an optical scanning device. Because a two-dimensional code is able to express information simultaneously through horizontal direction and vertical direction, a mass of information can be expressed in a small area. Currently known two-dimensional codes can mainly be classified into stacked two-dimensional codes and matrix two-dimensional codes. Stacked two-dimensional codes are formed by stacking a plurality of shortened one-dimensional codes. Matrix two-dimensional codes are in the form of matrixes. In the position of a corresponding element, the appearance of a spot or other shape presents a binary “1”, and the absence of a spot presents a binary “0”.
However, the existing two-dimensional codes are transmitted and stored in graphic forms, thus there are a lot of inconveniences in applications. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the transmitting of a two-dimensional code in prior art between a network server and a mobile terminal. A customer 104 selects information (such as discount vouchers) for which he or she desires by visiting a bar code server 101. The coding information corresponding to the bar code of the selected information is transmitted to a coder 102. In the coder 102, the coding information of the bar code is encoded into a two-dimensional array code, and the two-dimensional array code in the form of an image file is transmitted to a mobile terminal 105 of the customer 104 through an issuing module 103. The received two-dimensional code image is stored in the memory of the mobile terminal 105. The image may be displayed to a code reading device for reading, through a screen of the mobile terminal 105, when needed. When a mobile terminal A needs to transmit a two-dimensional code it stored to a mobile terminal B, it transmits the two-dimensional code picture to the mobile terminal B; or the mobile terminal A displays the two-dimensional code on a screen for the mobile terminal B to capture by a camera or other image reading devices.
Because two-dimensional codes in prior art are propagated in the form of images, it needs to occupy more communication resources, which means longer communication elapsed time and higher communication cost for customers. Moreover, propagating in the form of images has limits to receiving devices (such as mobile phones) and communication networks. Many users' mobile phones may not be able to receive and transmit two-dimensional code images (such as by ways of multimedia messages). Or a two-dimensional code image is lost due to a communication network cause. Both of these two cases lead to lower arriving ratio of two-dimensional code applications based on the existing propagating manner. In addition, storing two-dimensional code images also leads to a relatively large memory capacity, which is hardly acceptable for a common mobile terminal with a limited memory capacity. The memory of images also makes it difficult for customers to quickly and accurately find out needed two-dimensional code images.
Short messaging service is one of the widely accepted and used mobile services. Almost all mobile terminals support short messaging service. Short messaging service has benefits of low cost, high accessible issuing ratio (arriving ratio), and lower data storage capacity. Short messaging service needs not to be adapted in terms of the size and resolution of a user's mobile terminal. Implementing the propagation of two-dimensional codes through short messages can solve the problems above.
Therefore, it is desirable that the present invention provides a improved two-dimensional code, which is able to have the existing two-dimensional code's advantage of two-directional information presentation with a large data capacity, while avoid the problem that a existing two-dimensional code has to be propagated through image due to the using of “black” and “white” to present bits. Moreover, it is desirable that the reading of the improved two-dimensional code is quick and accurate.